üIran unveiled what it described as the country's
"first domestically manufactured" fighter jet Kowsar

About news:

üState media aired video and pictures of Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani in the cockpit during its first public display.

üTest flights of the jet, dubbed the Kowsar, took
place on the eve of the National Day of the Defense Industry, according to
semi-official Mehr News Agency.

üIt was
unclear whether the jet's first public display flight has yet taken place.

üThe Kowsar can be used for "short aerial
support missions" and is equipped with systems that "promote
precision targeting," according to state media.

üIran is currently under economic and diplomatic
pressure from a raft of sanctions reimposed by the United States earlier this
month, and the unveiling could be seen as a bid to show self-sufficiency and
military might in the face of that pressure.

üThe announcement was made at the start of the
Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, when many Iranians would be at home and more
likely to be watching television.

üIran has unveiled several new fighter jets in
the last few years.

üIn 2013,
the country unveiled the Qahar-313, a new fighter jet that Iran compared to the
US F-22 and F-35.

üBut many aviation experts voiced skepticism
regarding the design and quality of the build of that plane.

üIran has sent weapons and soldiers to Syria
during the country's seven-year civil war in support of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad.

üBut the country's air force comprises roughly a
few dozen strike aircraft, largely Russian or American planes acquired before
the 1979 revolution, according to Reuters.